


You Need Friends

by TheGreenMeerkat



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Codependency, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Other, Swearing, ZaDr, ZaGf, angst if you squint, gaz and zim would be great friends, you cant change my mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22048372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreenMeerkat/pseuds/TheGreenMeerkat
Summary: With the encouragement of Dib, Zim attempts to befriend the intimidating Gazeline Membrane.
Relationships: Dib & Gaz (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim), Gaz & Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 86





	You Need Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Look who's finally publishing a ZaDr fic! Except it barely has Dib in it, whoops.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"Zim, you need friends."

"What?" The little green alien in question looked up from his current project. Now that he isn't receiving resources from the armada, he's been making task robots in his free time to sell and help Dib pay his bills.

"Zim doesn't need filthy human  _ friends _ ." He scowls at the word, but his face quickly shifts to a wide smile. "I have you!"

Said apparently  _ not _ filthy human scoffed with both fondness and exasperation. "Most people have other friends besides their boyfriend."

It's not that Zim was against the idea of having friends - though he would rather avoid a repeat of the Keef incident - but connecting with humans was incredibly difficult for him. With Dib, it was easy; they had been around each other for years, even if it was as mortal enemies, their destinies had been intertwined since the beginning. Dib  understood Zim long before they were in any form of relationship, and that's not something he can get with other humans.

"What other humans would ever be worthy of my friendship?"

"I'm sure there's  _ somebody _ you could get along with." Dib thought for a moment, stroking his stubble-covered chin. Zim was very loveable once you gain his respect, but getting there is much more than just difficult. “What about Gaz? Wouldn’t it be nice to connect with my family?”

The alien bared his teeth uncomfortably at the name. “Right. Your, eh, birth-mate. ‘Sister,’ as you say.” Siblinghood was something Zim struggled to understand in human culture. All Irkens come from the same birth chambers, so why would it matter if you’re born from the same parents? It was a type of relationship he would never fully understand. “Would it make you happy?”

It was questions like those that made Dib bring this up. “Yes, it would.” _But you need to be happy, too_ .

/

Zim shakily knocked on the door to the Membrane house. His disguise wasn't taken off as it usually is here, but nothing about this situation felt “usual” to him in general. He would much rather be using his PAK legs to crawl into Dib’s room and snuggle into his bed, but today he had to make  friends .

_This was for Dib,_ he reminded himself.

The door creaked open to reveal the typical Gaz, looking disinterested and apathetic as ever. Dib swears that she isn’t as emotionless as she seems, but the only real emotion Zim has seen from her is anger. How was he supposed to be  _ friends  _ with her?

“Dib’s not home.”

“Ack- yes! The Dib is not home!” Zim tried his best to maintain eye contact and a smile with her, but his pupilless eyes kept finding something very interesting on the floor instead as he stroked his antenna with nerves. “I am actually here for you!”

Gaz raised her brow slightly, only to bring it back down with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. “Let me guess; Dib put you up to this?”

“Nonsense, I come on my own! My Dib has nothing to do with this.” The alien pauses at his own words, moving his head down to rub his chin in thought. “Or should I say  _ our _ Dib? Since he is your birth-mate--”

_“Ew_ , no, absolutely not.” Gaz rubbed at her temples and let out an exasperated groan. Great, Zim hasn’t even entered the house yet and has already managed to annoy her. How could Dib ever think they could get along? “Whatever, fine. Just come inside already.”

That was enough for Zim to gain a bit of his confidence back (false confidence, as Dib calls it, but the human phrase “fake it til you make it” resonates with him closely). He strides in with his head held high, prepared to connect to the gothic teen in any way he could. Dib would be so proud of him after today!

Gaz led Zim to the old crumby sofa of the Membrane house, sitting down and picking up the abandoned control connected to the paused television. She then tossed a second controller at Zim, who fumbles around to barely keep it in his hands. “Dib ever play video games with you?”

He responded by placing the thrown controller back on the coffee table, frowning in embarrassment and discomfort. “I get a bit too… frustrated, with the video games. I’ll just watch.”

She simply shrugged in response, unpausing the violent first-person shooter game she must have been invested in before Zim showed up. Though action games like this aligned more with his interests, he felt it difficult to focus on what was happening on the screen. An awkward silence filled the air, and the alien felt his nerves hit him once again. Would she be mad if he tried to conversate?

Thankfully, Gaz broke the silence on her own, eyes still focused on the television. “Why are you still in your disguise, by the way?”

“Oh. Eh, for safety, I guess? I walked here, so--”

“But why are you  _ still _ wearing it? Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“Well, if it doesn’t bother you.” Zim reached up and flipped off his wig and contacts, stretching out his antennae with relief. He’s not completely sure himself why he didn’t take it off once he entered the house - if he walked in with Dib, it would have been off right away. Perhaps it was a trust sort of thing, since he’s so used to having to hide his alien form from other humans.

Gaz let out a sound in between a laugh and a scoff. “Why would I care? I mean, no offense, but the costume kinda makes you look ridiculous.”

Zim let out a sudden giggle (or, the  _ Zim  _ equivalent of a giggle, which was more of a silent cackle), making Gaz look away from the TV screen for a moment in surprise. “Dib says the same thing. Clearly, your human eyes can’t appreciate the genius in Zim’s craft.”

“Uh-huh, sure. Speaking of which,” he’s not sure how it was possible, but the human managed to be fully attentive in their conversation while still playing her game fantastically. “Why do you still wear that damn invader outfit? Is it like, infused to your backpack thing or something?”

“Wha- no! That would be horrible!” What intelligent species would choose to wear the same clothes at all times? Not only is that incredibly unhygienic, but also plain uncomfortable! “Fashion just isn’t much of a thing for Irkens. Now that I think about it, though, it  _ would  _ be nice to try something new.”

A shock to Zim, Gaz paused the game once more and set down the controller, sitting up to face him. “Do you have money on you?”

“Uh, yeah?” Since Zim doesn’t have American citizenship (or anything proving he’s a real person on Earth), he has a debit card under Dib’s name where the money from his sales go. “Probably about fifty bucks right now. Why?”

She stood up, grabbing her keys off the coffee table. “Put your disguise back on. We’re going to some thrift stores and buying you some damn clothes.”

//

“Holy shit.”

With two hours in just one large Goodwill, Zim and Gaz had nearly torn apart every aisle looking for clothes that fit the tiny alien. There was a surprising lot of goofing off that took place, trying on funny hats and examining the strange toys in the kids’ section. They managed to find a few shirts and sweaters, one pair of leggings, and a cute red skirt, but this outfit was on a whole other level.

He stared at himself in the mirror. His legs were covered by a typical black circle shirt that reached just above his knees, along with black stockings stopping below them. They hadn’t found any shoes that fit comfortably with his small alien feet, but his black boots worked just well. The piece that really made this outfit, however, was the pastel pink cropped sweater they had found crushed between the ugly women’s long-sleeved shirts. It was so simple, and yet…

Gaz smiled and crossed her arms, appreciating the work she had done. “I think we found your style, dude. Oh, wait a sec-” She began to rustle through her purse, then pulled out a black floral-patterned lace choker and stretched it over Zim’s head. “Now  _ that’s _ perfect.”

“Do you think Dib will like it?”

“Who cares, man! Do  _ you _ like it?”

He couldn’t stop staring at himself. He had never thought he cared about what he looked like before, as long as he was presentable in front of Dib. But he looked  _ good _ . Even with the supposedly ridiculous disguise, the clothing fits him perfectly. He couldn’t stop himself from giving a bright smile. “Yes, I think I do!”

Once Zim got back into his normal clothes, they bought their clothes and headed back out to the car. It grew silent again on the road, but this time, there was not even a hint of awkwardness. Gaz happily tapped a tune onto the steering wheel, and Zim was still riding on the wave of excitement that came with his new clothes.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Gaz broke the silence once again. It was interesting; as the alien learned to listen and reflect, maybe the human was learning to speak her mind more instead of always staying in her own world. “You used to always talk in the third person, but you don’t really do it much anymore. Did Dib, like, train it out of you or something?”

Zim chuckled at that. “No, it wasn’t Dib’s doing- well, not directly.” He looked down with a somewhat sad smile, reflecting back to his younger self. “Even if I tried to ignore it, everyone was against me back then. There was no one to cheer me on, to tell me Zim was doing good. So  _ I _ told Zim what we needed to keep going.”

It was never as intentional as he made it sound, but he knows it to be true. If the Tallests and the other Irkens didn’t believe in him, then he had to make it up with his own voice. But saying “I” broke the illusion that anyone believed in him, including himself.

“But Dib changed that. Even as enemies, he thought of me as  _ capable _ enough to have to stop me.”

“Well, good to know my brother isn’t a complete idiot.” Gaz made a  _ tsk _ sound at her own joke, but then frowned in thought. “Y’know you can’t just rely on him, right? I mean, you went from praising yourself in the third person to not complimenting yourself much at all. Is that really a fix?”

Oh. “I… I never thought about it that way.” Was it bad to rely on Dib? Wasn’t that the point of having a partner? It was unfair to Dib, he supposes; he can’t expect him to always be there to lift him up.

The one person who is always there with you is yourself.

The rest of the car ride was filled with other small conversations, from Gaz’s favorite video games and Zim’s builds to their social struggles and fears for the future. At the same time, however, silence seemed to come naturally for both of them. It was a comforting embrace between topics, something both of them could appreciate in their otherwise chaotic lives.

When they got home, Dib was there to greet them in the living room. “You guys… went shopping?”

Gaz handed the bag of clothing to Zim, then stepped closer to Dib and crossed her arms. Zim felt himself tense up, fearing she might complain that her brother made them hang out. “Dude, why haven’t you taken your boyfriend to get new clothes? I’m telling you, there’s a natural fashionista under that green skin of his.”

Dib lifted up his hands in defense. “Hey, how was I supposed to know? He never asked!” He shook his head with an exasperated laugh and grabbed the brim of his nose. “Well, glad you guys had fun, at least.”

“Yeah, yeah. Y’all can go make out upstairs now or whatever.” She began to move towards the couch, but stopped herself and walked back to Zim. “Hey, if you wanna buy more clothes once you get more money, you know where I’ll be.” She finished it off with a light punch to the alien’s bicep before jumping back into her video game.

As the two boys walked upstairs, Zim whispered to Dib, “Why did she punch me? Did I do something wrong?”

“Don’t worry, it’s how she shows affection. Now, are you going to show me your cute new clothes or what?”

“Oh, you are going to  _ love  _ this.”

**Author's Note:**

> You would be amazed at the clothes I have found at Goodwill's. I recently got an invade Area 51 hoodie from one.
> 
> Tumblr: @nonbinary-dib
> 
> Comment if you enjoyed!


End file.
